An action research project was conducted to promote critically reflective teaching in a semester-long secondary social studies methods course. To encourage critical reflection, the instructor drew explicit attention to issues of rationale building in social studies, critical thinking, democratic education, and social transformation. Evidence of…

Presents case studies of three Anglo American preservice teachers as they worked with children of color and/or poverty. Asks the preservice teachers to look within to explore their own literary backgrounds in a reading-autobiography assignment. Argues the combination of autobiographical accounts with reflective field experiences helps preservice…

Considers to what degree student teachers use principles and methods from their university-based methods class in their student teaching experiences. Explores the student teaching experience in secondary English through case studies of four students from the methods class. Reveals that the methods class and the methods professor matter, as do the…

Describes how selected case examples are used in a mathematics course for prospective elementary teachers to provide a framework for discussing how children construct meaning in mathematics. The article examines the advantages of presenting cases in videodisc format with access to additional information through associated computer databases. (SM)

The New York Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (NYCETP) is a multicampus project designed to produce well-qualified teachers of science and mathematics. As part of the formative evaluation of the NYCETP, evaluators have designed activities that support faculty development and intercampus faculty collaboration. The pilot study of…

William Perry argued that adult development can be marked by a progressively refined set of questions focused on how Authorities like teachers can support multiple right answers and still maintain that there are wrong answers. When prospective English teachers view right and wrong answers as relativistic, they seem to view themselves as…

Describes three case studies of young, middle-class European American female preservice teachers' experiences teaching literacy to diverse students literacy while enrolled in a field-based literacy methods course. Finds field experiences had a greater impact on one preservice teacher than on the other two in terms of enhanced capabilities for…

Reports on a study that aimed to develop teaching cases for instrumental music education methods courses through analysis of current teaching practice. Using a case study design based on four experienced instrumental music teachers, the study documented daily interactions, decision-making skills, and use of pedagogical knowledge. Offers research…

Literacy methods coursework usually uses an approach in which prospective teachers are asked to apply domain knowledge (concepts and methods of literacy teaching) in field situations structured for its application. However, that methods can be learned in this way and incorporated into actual situations of schooling has been called into question. A…

This paper examines how three preservice teachers, who previously worked in science-related fields, confronted barriers in the process of becoming science teachers. Many of the barriers these teachers faced were similar to the barriers that more traditional teacher education candidates faced, but they also faced some barriers that were less common…

To date, very little has been written about what kind of experiences foreign and second language teachers had during their preservice teaching internships and the implications of these experiences on the quality of foreign and second language instruction in the United States in K-12 settings. This article presents the case study of one student…

This study examines how social studies preservice teachers use pedagogical and technological applications and skills employed during their teacher education program, specifically the methods block. Data were collected from the methods course experience through student teaching and then through case study research with first-year teachers. Results…

A case study approach was taken to determine the degree to which teachers, enrolled in a graduate methods class in language arts and reading, comprehended new theories and applied them in their classrooms. Results indicated that there were broad differences in teacher behavior. Approaches to be taken in changing teacher behavior are discussed. (JN)

Results are reported from a study which examines preservice teachers' changes in thinking about both content and pedagogy associated with experiences in reflective peer teaching units and tests the value of preconcept and postconcept mapping as a measure of change in pedagogical decision making. (IAH)

This case study describes the impact of high-stakes testing on a first-year teacher's literacy instruction. Results indicated that content from literacy methods courses was often abandoned in favor of compliance to a test preparatory program. As an intervention, I began teaching in the third-grade classroom while the beginning teacher observed.…